VANCOUVER – Approximately 24 claims have been filed by employees working in the downtown area on the night of the Stanley Cup riot.
Megan Johnston with WorkSafeBC says half of the claims involve injuries like cuts, bruises, strains and concussions, and did not require workers to take time off work.
“More recently, we have received some post-traumatic stress disorder claims,” says Johnston.
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Many of the workers found themselves directly threatened when vandals and looters started breaking into businesses in the downtown core.
It was reported a Blenz Coffee franchisee, two staff members and a customer were forced to barricade themselves in the back room of one of the stores, while it was being thrashed by rioters.
Meanwhile, staff at the downtown London Drugs were holed up inside the store as hundreds of rioters battered the burglar-resistant glass for two hours to get in.
Johnston says it’s hard to tell if the number of claims associated with the riot will go up in the future, because something like a post-traumatic stress disorder can take longer to present itself.
Workers have until June 15th of next year to file a riot-related claim.
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